Tuesday, September 25, 2007

UPDATE: Michael Vick indicted locally in Virginia. Given that the prosecutor plans on using Vick's own sworn statement of facts from the Feds' conviction against him here, Vick is SO screwed. (The key detail: Up to 5 years for every dead dog, which the statement of facts already affirms he was involved in. Yikes.)

Plus: How did I miss the Devil Rays' name change to just "Rays," along with new logos and uniforms. I'm late on this, and I'm bummed by their choice. The team -- which has one of the best ownership groups in sports -- totally blew a chance to do something interesting that could help the team gain traction. Did they really think there was so much brand value in "Rays" that they were compelled to keep it? Really? Verdict: Swing and a miss.

MNF: If there's a single most disappointing team (or even storyline) in the NFL this season, it's that the Saints are terrible. Not just a hard-luck 0-3, but their offense – which was so exciting last year – is anemic this season.

Meanwhile, what's the deal with Reggie Bush? Sure, Reggie Bush scored 2 TDs, but he accounted for only 35 total yards, including a mere 15 rushing (on 7 carries). At what point do we get to say that Bush isn't (or hasn't) fulfilled his "game-changing" potential?

(Now: Will things get better or worse for Bush with Deuce apparently out for the season? On the one hand, Bush gets tons more carries; on the other hand, is he really an every-down RB? If you had a two-player draft today to start your franchise, and the choices were either Reggie Bush or Adrian Peterson, who would you take? Consider: Bush is a Swiss Army knife of a threat; Peterson can actually be a franchise-carrying every-down RB.)

As for the Titans, once again, Vince Young gets the best of Reggie Bush. It was a solid – if not spectacular –- line for VY. But the Titans got a much-needed win.

Vick Watch: Looks like the local county prosecutor is going to the grand jury, which means that charges can't be too far away either. Anticipate the media craziness, even if you really don't care (or never cared) that much anymore.

NFL Injury Watch: Steven Jackson, one of the most disappointing fantasy players of the season so far, will miss at least one week with a groin injury. Can you think of a year recently when the consensus No. 1 (LT), 2 (SJ) and 3 (LJ) fantasy players have gotten off to such sorry starts?

MLB Playoff Races: The Mets' lead in the NL East is down to 2 after losing to the Nats (who deserve credit for easily surpassing the doomsday projections that they would be the Top 5 worst teams in baseball history. Hell, they're on the verge of not even being one of the Top 5 worst teams in baseball this season.)

NL Wild Card: The Padres lost and are now tied with the Phillies, a mere one game ahead of the surging Rockies.

AL Wild Card: The Yankees clinched a tie for the WC and can clinch a spot in the playoffs with a win Tuesday or a Tigers loss.

MLB Dud: Milton Bradley, whose season is over after he tore his ACL during his latest Bradley freak-out.

PED Scandal: Wow, that was a massive DEA steroid-ring bust. It's not just that it probably reaches into all levels of sports (and let's get those names going!), but that it reaches into EVERYWHERE. You think it's just a pro-athlete thing? Ha!

Tyson pleads guilty to drug and DUI charges: And one of the sorriest tales in modern sports history gets even sorrier.

NBA: Seattle is suing the Sonics to keep them from leaving town. This can only get much, much uglier. Look, Seattlites: If Baltimore couldn't keep the Colts and Cleveland couldn't keep the Browns, you sure as hell aren't keeping the Sonics if the owners want to move them to, say, Oklahoma City.

Why 1-AA rules, Part Nth: While the "F.B.S." (1-A) can't get its act together to set up a playoff, the "F.C.S." (1-AA) is thinking about expanding its playoff system to 18 teams, which I heartily endorse.

NASCAR: Coors Light is becoming the official beer of NASCAR. I can't think of anything clever to say about that. Is there even auto racing in the Mountain time zone?

A-Rod getting an ownership stake as part of his next deal? Huge kudos to Deadspin's Will Leitch for not only writing a phenomenal story for New York magazine about A-Rod, but breaking the most intriguing off-field baseball story of the week: That after opting out, A-Rod could be courted with an ownership stake in the Chicago Cubs as part of his compensation.

First of all, this would be amazing, simply because it's unprecedented in baseball. Second, if any player deserves $30M a year (or $300M for 10), it's A-Rod (even if he'll be 42 when it's up). Let's be clear: NO player deserves $30M a year (though the market will bear what it will bear).

By the way, I think Will just gave Angels owner Arte Moreno a new idea of how to land A-Rod. I could see Moreno being much more likely to give A-Rod a piece of his club, than the TBD new Cubs owner (who might not even be in place by the time A-Rod does his deal).

UPDATE: As Commenters are pointing out, this theory has been (mostly) debunked. It's still a fun read, as it is only minimally about the Cubs/ownership thing, and mostly about A-Rod's future.

CFB Coach of the Year: Here's a fun side project I've been working on – this football season, I'm blogging at CoachOfTheYear.com, the site of the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award. (Rutger's Greg Schiano won last year.) The fans get a vote (in fact, there's a ballot updated a couple times a day), and I'm writing three blog posts a week. Feel free to head over there, check it out, vote and comment on the blog posts about the topic at hand (or anything related to analyzing college football coaches this season). And since you know the guest-blogger, you've got an "in." Check it out!

Fall TV: It's no secret that I'm a bit of a TV junkie. While the "Fall Premieres" aren't what they used to be (with networks putting shows out all year round), it's still a big week, particularly for returning shows.

Last night, I watched one returning show (Heroes) and one new one (Chuck). Heroes had a lot of balls to keep juggling in the air; it felt like the beginning of another long season.

Chuck was more self-contained. I'm always intrigued by series premieres, because they have to explain the main plot and the characters in a very short amount of time. Chuck's premise is simple. Its main character is very likeable. I think there's promise there.

Leave the A-Rod story alone, Dan. It's a cool concept but it's completely untrue. But hey, why let the truth get in the way of you sucking up to Deadspin?

Yankees president Randy Levine also responded harshly to the magazine piece.

"It's a silly story, and we don't believe it," he told ESPN.com's Buster Olney on Sunday evening. "However, if it was true, it would be grounds to disqualify the applicant even before he went through the process, because it would demonstrate a disregard for major league rules and procedures, and we're confident the commissioner would feel the same way."

Levine later said he spoke to Bud Selig, and the commissioner agreed with Levine's interpretation of the story, and its possible implications. A player can neither have part ownership of a team nor negotiate for future ownership.

I find it funny that a "blogger icon," writes something mainstream and finally someone calls him on what he wrote. THAT is the huge problem with this blogging phenomenon...writers can write virtually anything they want unchecked and the results can turn viral and instantly become mob opinion. What's even more potentially dangerous is the ever increasing media trend to use blogs as a source for story ideas. I love the freedom of blogging and the overall concept, but at some point free speech needs to be balanced with the verified truth.

chitown -- i was going to comment about that too. i still haven't made up my mind about whether the article was out of line or not... but you can't fault a coach for sticking up for his players. he even said that she should have come after him instead of the player. that's a pretty big statement. i respect that.

I may be in the minority but as a coach of a high school basketball team, I loved Coach Gundy's rant. He was trying to protect his player and in his mind (and mine) I'm sure was doing the right thing. I know college football is big business but the players are still very young men and we all lose perspective of that sometimes. It has even reached it's way down to the high school level, where on occasion, you will see kids criticized in print or on the radio (and I won't even go in to the over-the-top parents that seem to be a problem in just about every athletic program these days). I'm sure Coach Gundy saw that his player was hurt (it was hard enough for him to lose his starting job and deal with all the emotions/problems that go along with that) and wanted to defend him against his attackers, much as any of us would do for our own kids. I for one, say bravo Coach. I would have no problem ever sending my son to play for him.

I also watched the link to the local news coverage where they interviewed the woman who wrote the article. She seemed a bit shaken but stood behind the facts in the story that the OSU QB was benched because of his attitude.

I saw the same stuff spewed out against the Syracuse QB, Perry Patterson, last year. It was mainly by message boards and not the local papers though. He was a great kid who never got in trouble, worked hard and never complained. Was he a great QB? Not by a long shot. However I have to say that a lot of people did also defend him and put things in perspective that he was a 20 something year old college student playing a game.

On the flip side, if you are a div IA QB for a major team, you better expect some public criticism when things don't go well.

We have racing in the mountain time zone. I'm sure you've heard of the Unser family, based out of Albuquerque.

Or what about the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb? One of the longest running races in the US (started in 1916). You've possibly heard of some of the past winners: Mario Andretti and Al, Bobby and Robby Unser.

And certainly what the race lacks in name recognition it makes up for in excitement. Where else can you see a 2,000 foot drop when a driver goes off the course?

Next time you are out here for a Rockies game, check it out. But take it easy on us; we're not all cowboys out here.

1. All the characters ended on different paths in season 1 and it is nearly impossible to keep show going if it is fragmented every other minute to catch up with another character like the premier did last night. Sadly, the writers seem to be trying to satisfy fans of every character instead of "Character Darwinsm" by eliminating week plots/characters (see: Nathan Petrelli, Matt Parkman).

2. Adding new characters didn't help the fragmentation either- though I can understand the need for "new blood".

3. I know I know (SPOILER ALERT). The season will retro to "Four Months Ago" circa Episode 8 (from the current "Four Months Later") and all will be explained/forgiven. Again, trying to satisfy too many masters (i.e., Season 1 fans AND newbies).

anyone other Office fan concerned the show may have "jumped the shark" by rushing the Jim/Pam relationship? There really wasn't anywhere else the storyline could go. Michael being awkward and Dwight being an idiot can only take that show so far.

Chuck was pretty good, when she punched that ashtray into his crotch...hilarious.

You can find it in Wikipedia, MarcoMarco, as well as multiple news outlets. A simple "Maureen McCormick book lesbian Jan" in google will turn up dozens of links. However, for the sake of fairness, now I see that the book publisher is denying that this is in her Marcia's new book.

BKelly, I HOPE they haven't ruined The Office by hooking them up. There is so much writing talent there that I'm convinced that they'll do it right. I just hope we get more Creed this season. (And, I'm sure you know, but Creed really WAS in The Grass Roots back in the day). And Dwight being an idiot can go REALLY far.

Dan, Thanks for noticing the Nationals season. I know you were one of the dooms day naysayers, predicting a historically bad season. So it is good to give them their due, when they deserve an honorable mention. They're 1 win away from matching last year's total, without Livan Hernandez, Jose Vidro, Jose Guillen, Alfonso Soriano, and Nick Johnson, along with $30M less in payroll.

cycledan, I could sit and watch hours of nothing but Jim and Pam messing with Dwight.

By the way, if any Office fans have not purchased or rented the Season 2 & Season 3 DVDs, I would HIGHLY recomment it. There are enough deleted scenes to make 15 more episodes. And the deleted scenes are as funny as the ones that made it into the show.

Has anyone seen the pictures of oscar delahoya in drag getting fucked by a hooker. I was waiting for the game to come on last night and my girl made me put it on entertainment tonite. they are talking about some lawsuit the golden boy is starting against a prostitute who he hired to come to some hotel in philly and dress him in drag and fuck him. They were showing pictures of him in a dress and makeup and a wig to him in a pink gstring and fishnets. The prostitute even has signed an affadavit stating that those are the real pictures that were taken off of a camera she owned. Why hasn't anyone been talking about this.

De la hoya's hooker was hot. Of course it led to an awkward conversation about whether or not I would ever want to put on womens clothes(hell no). I had no clue where my woman was going with that line of questioning.

Next thing we are going to hear is that De la hoya has the anally injected death sentence.

Speaking of women's clothes, apparently the NY Yankess haze their rookies by making them dress up as Wizard of Oz characters. Some funny photos. Not bad being the lion or scarecrow, not sure I would like to be the Dorothy or the good witch. I guess money is not an object in finding good costumes for them.

I thought Chuck was a little too goofy. The female lead wasn't all that believable in her role and a lot of the dialogue was clunky. Really hard to balance being a goofy show with also being some sort of CIA undercover show. Maybe it will get better but I wasn't that impressed... even though Adam Baldwin rules all.

The closest to wearing women's clothing I will go is wearing my kilt. Of course If I were to wear that with a button down shirt I would look like a trollish catholic schoolgirl. There was a gay bar back in Tampa years ago that had a college night for all the straight people, but if you went in drag you got nickel beers. I probably would have dressed up for that but I was way too young to go to bars back then so it was never an issue. It is pretty quick for Delahoya's hooker friend to recant her story when she was on live tv last night talking bout it. I am sure someone could have photoshopped the pics off of her camera but she was adamant that they were the pics she took of him last night. As much as I don't pay attention to the tabloids and stuff entertainment tonite is one of the few respectable programs of its kind. I would think they would have done a pretty thorough investigation before showing pics on tv of that nature. Otherwise they are opening themselves up to a huge lawsuit. I guess I will have to make my woman pay extra attention to this story since she can't get enough of that crap.

Our friend Ryan went into the back to get the manager because he said there was no way in hell he was going to serve us. Since this was a place we frequented we knew the manager as well. He loved the idea and made Ryan serve us even though he was not happy about it.

A friend of ours who bet that we wouldn't do it picked up the $45/$50 bar tab. So it was definitely worth it.

I wouldn't pack the moving vans to Oklahoma just yet. The guy who is leading the charge for the city of Seattle is 3-0 against sports leagues winning against MLB twice and the NFL once. Also, the lease is pretty strong in favor of the city. This one is gonna go for the distance, but I definitely wouldn't count out the city.

of all shows starting back up, i am most looking forward to House tonight. Has there ever been anybody who played a prick so well on TV? Don't watch that much of regular TV, mostly sports. The only other show that I make sure to watch doesn't even start until Jan, "24." BTW, way to go Kiefer, your 2nd DUI! Thanks for taking the chance at killing someone in real life.

The best part about the show house is that Hugh Laurie is fucking english. I was so used to him being in shows like blackadder and jeeves and wooster that when he was started house it just blew me away. He was always hilarious as an idiot on Blackadder which makes it that much more weird seeing him play a serious character when he has typically been rather goofy on screen.

The new Rays uni's are totally straight from a beer league softball team or something. They really do look like the jerseys my buddies pizza place got for the t-ball team they sponsor. I wish I had the strength to just use a red hot poker and burn my eyes out rather than look at that crap for god knows how long. They might even be worse than those godawful unis that the eagles wore last weekend. I have a replica of every Rays jersey and I can assure you I won't be buying any of these new ones. the should have gone with the old st pete saints uni's and changed the name to the saints. Now that would have been cool as we have never lost when we have used anything related to the old saints franchise.

Speaking of uniforms, in the Rugby World Cup, teams are all wearing synthetic looking, tight fitting collarless jerseys. I am sure it is easier to play in a synthetic jersey that dries off faster than cotton, I am sure a collar is only an extra handle to get yanked by. Also I am sure the big muscular guys like showing off their bodies but I hate it.

If it wasn't for the size of the rugby players, they would look like - gasp - soccer players. The US has two games left. South Africa will kill the US team so their only chance for a win is against Samoa.

In general, defending champ England may not even make it out of the round robin stage, New Zealand looks unstoppable with maybe South Africa or Australia being the only real challengers to them.

Of course this great tournament gets absolutely zero coverage in the US with tape delayed games on the Versus network.

It is interesting how there is almost no motivation for the 4 AL playoff teams to win right now. It seems like Cleveland and LA will have homefield over the Yanks and Red Sox so winning the division doesn't mean anything. Also if Cleveland has a better record, they get the WC team. Since the Yanks would rather play Cleveland, it is better to get the WC than win the division.

Yanks have to get Clemens, Pettite, Mussina and Rivera rested. Red Sox need to get Manny back in shape along with Youkalis and even Ortiz. Plus their Japanese pitchers look worn out. It seems like they are hoping a little rest will get them back in early season form.

The NL somehow turned into a dogfight in almost every division. The AL teams are definitely better but we may see the NL team take advantage of the AL teams beating each other up again.

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DanShanoff.com is a sports-blog spin-off of my long-time ESPN.com column, "The Daily Quickie." Anchored by an early-morning post of must-know topics, the blog is updated frequently throughout the day with new posts and user comments.